Online Shopping Tips For Canadians

By: David Cameron

The main hurdle to Canadian online shopping is the uncertainty of shipping costs.
These costs are predictable and you shouldn't fear them. In
most cases the shipping, taxes and duty are unavoidable
but at least there will be fewer surprises if you read
this page carefully.

Before you even start shopping on a merchants web site,
there are a few things that you should check right away!
Does the merchant ship to Canada? You can usually find
this information by looking at the Customer Service,
Help or Shipping page. If the merchant doesn't
mention that they ship internationally or to Canada -
stop shopping on that site. Some merchants will clearly
state that they do not ship to international destinations.
These merchants obviously don't want your business. (All
merchants on CanBuy.ca ship to Canada - but some are better
than others. Just read on...)

1) What Taxes and Duties to expect when shipping to Canada

Canadian Taxes
Any goods entering into Canada
will be subject to the Federal Goods and Services Tax
(GST) as well as the applicable Provincial Sales Tax
(PST). In Quebec this is also known as the Quebec Sale
Tax (QST). In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland
and Labrador the GST and PST is replaced by the Harmonised
Sale Tax (HST).

Currently the Goods And Services Tax (GST) is currently
5%. This may go even lower in years to come. Provincial
Sales Taxes vary from province to province but just
be aware that it will be added at the border. If you
live in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or Newfoundland
and Labrador you will pay a flat 13% Harmonised sales
tax.

Canadian Duties
Thanks to the North America Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadians do not have to pay
extra Duties (tax or tariff) on most goods that are
manufactured in the United States or Mexico. Sounds
great right? Well be very, very careful. The items that
you are purchasing from that American online store may
not have been produced in the USA or Mexico so it will
be eligible for international duties. It is a very good
idea to check with the online store that you are buying
from and determine if the product has been imported
from a country other than the USA or Mexico. If it was
in fact produced in the USA try to get something in
writing from the online Merchants just in case Canada
Customs decides to investigate your purchase closely.

2) What is a Brokerage fee?

Brokerage Fees are usually the
biggest surprise for most people when their online purchase
finally arrives at their front door. A Customs Broker
is a middleman who represents you by being the person
who brings your package across the border. Essentially
he is your employee. You pay him a percentage of the shipment's
value or a minimum handling fee. The Customs Broker completes
the paperwork (usually a single form stating the package's
contents and value) and sends this form and the applicable
duty and taxes to the Government. If you ship by air,
the Brokerage Fee is usually included in the air shipping
fee. (Shipping by air is usually always more expensive)

3) How to avoid the Brokerage Fee

There is a little known fact that it is possible to not
pay the Brokerage fee! If you live close to a major border crossing, you can save the Brokerage Fee
by clearing your package through Canada Customs yourself!
It will take a little extra time but depending on how
the package has been shipped, you could save yourself
a lot of money. All you need to do is fill out the paperwork
yourself and take it to a Canada Customs Office and pay
any applicable tax or duty.

Here is what you will need:
1. The Waybill from the courier company
2. Invoice for the Goods being delivered (to prove the
value of your delivery)
3. A piece of Photo ID (to prove who you are)
4. Money (You will still need to pay tax/duty charges)

Here is what you do:
1. When you know that your purchase
is on the way, get the tracking number from the seller
2. Call the courier company and tell
them you want to broker it yourself
3. When the item arrives, pick up
the waybill and paperwork from the courier
4. Go to your local Canada Customs
(list
of Canada Customs Offices here), they'll process
it, stamp the forms, and you can return to the courier
company and pick up your package

4) Merchant Shipping Fees

Most American merchants do not
offer free shipping offers outside of the USA. Do not
assume that a large FREE SHIPPING promotion on an American
Merchants site means that you will be receiving free shipping
to Canada. You should be aware that the Merchant will
probably add some sort of shipping fee onto your order.

6) Shipping Methods You Should Avoid

Simply put, AVOID UPS, FedEx
and DHL ground shipping. These three companies charge
unreasonably high Brokerage Fees. If you must use UPS
or FedEx- request FedEx Priority or UPS Expedited as these
shipping options have brokerage fees included.

7) CanBuy.ca Preferred Shippers (and why)

Choose United States Postal
Service (USPS) as your shipping option.
It may surprise you but good old Canada Post is by far
the least expensive way to ship a purchase into Canada.
Look for merchants that offer the United States Postal
Service (USPS) as a shipping option. Canada Post will
handle the purchase when it reaches the border. Canada
Post will only charge a small brokerage fee! This brokerage
fee will be payable when you pay any applicable taxes
due on the shipment. When USPS isn't available, try to
use FedEx Priority or UPS Expedited. They are more expensive
than ground but these shipping options have brokerage
fees included. Avoid UPS/FedEx Ground.

8) What to look for when investigating a merchant

It goes without
saying that when you are investigating what merchants
to buy from, your best bet is to buy from a merchant that
is located in Canada. This will save you a great deal
of money on duty and brokerage fees because your purchase
will not have to cross the border. If you must deal with
an American merchant, try to find one that has a shipping
warehouse located in Canada - there are more and more
merchants doing this to enter into the Canadian online
market.

9) Free shipping to Canada

Free shipping to Canada is pretty
well unknown right now but CanBuy.ca is working with out
merchants to offer free shipping to Canada in the form
of coupons and price-drops so take a careful look at each
merchant detail page to see if they are one of the rare
few...

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